The 65th edition of the Cork International Film Festival is going fully virtual. The event, the longest-running Irish gathering of its kind, will take place from 8-15 November.

Up until a few days ago, the festival had intended to present a hybrid physical and digital event. However, following the Irish government’s announcement to extend level 3+ restrictions nationwide to 10 November, thereby approving the continued closure of cinemas and ongoing travel restrictions, the festival will offer a fully digital programme this year, comprising 50 fiction features and documentaries, 14 programmes of shorts and several special events.

Speaking about the decision, festival director and CEO Fiona Clark said: “While we are disappointed at not being able to present films in a cinema environment, one of the exciting aspects of the reimagined Cork International Film Festival this year is the opportunity to reach audiences nationwide through our new Digital Festival platform, CIFF@Home. Ninety percent of the programme launched on 14 October remains the same and will simply move to online screenings, enabling audiences nationwide to watch Irish premieres and to participate in Q&As with filmmakers online, from the comfort of their own homes.”

Meanwhile, director of programming Anna Kopecka told Cineuropa: “We are really excited that we can offer on our new platform such a great selection of new international and Irish fiction, documentary and short films to the audience in the whole of Ireland. Besides the world premieres of four Irish documentary and fiction features, we will also show some great new international movies, such as Falling [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Philippe Garrel [France/Switzerland] and City Hall by Frederick Wiseman [USA]. I hope that everybody will find something to brighten up their day during this rather gloomy autumn.”

The digital festival will open on 8 November with a screening of the Irish-Belgian-Luxembourgish co-production The Racer [+lee también:
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Besides the clutch of aforementioned titles, the festival highlights will include Abel Ferrara’s Siberia [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon, The Edge of Chaos by Sam Uhlemann, and Home Is a Sacrifice Zone by Johnny Gogan.

Finally, the film industry training days, encompassing First Take (9 November) and Doc Day (10 November), will be accessible online, for free. In particular, Doc Day will see the participation of activist and philanthropist Abigail Disney as a keynote guest. A special commemoration screening of George Dewhurst’s Irish Destiny (1926) will take place on 14 November, presented by the Irish Film Institute and supported by Cork City Council.

Films will have a 30-hour watch window, and there are a limited number of tickets per title, so early booking is recommended. You can visit corkfilmfest.org to find out more.